Balloon and ball toy

ABSTRACT

A toy has an elongated, flexible tube with openings at the opposite ends thereof and with a third opening intermediate those end openings, has the rim on the neck of a balloon disposed within that third opening so that rim underlies the portions of the tube which define that third opening, and has a light-weight ball. One end of the tube can be disposed within the mouth of the user of the toy, the other end of that tube can be disposed so the axis of the opening therein is upwardly-directed, and the balloon can be inflated to enable the neck and the rim on that neck to engage, and form an air-tight seal with, the portions of the tube which define the third opening. By forcing air into the opening at the one end of the tube, the user can cause an upwardly-directed stream of air to issue from the opening at the other end of the tube, and can also inflate the balloon; and, thereafter, when the user must inhale, that balloon will be able to supply the air for the upwardly-directed stream of air.

United States Patent [191 Matlack [451 Apr. 23, 1974 4] "BALLOON AND BALL TOY [76] Inventor: Marvin L. Matlack, 7501 Mars Dr., Godfrey, 111. 62035 22 Filed: Oct. 30, 1972 [2i] Appl. No.: 302,205

[52] US. Cl. ..46/44, 46/88 [51] Int. Cl A63h 29/16 [58] Field of Search 46/44, 87, 88

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,392,861 lO/l92l Tabacco 46/44 2,l l9,l33 5/1938 Hogan 46/44 Primary Examiner-Louis G. Mancene Assistant Examiner-Robert F. Cutting Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Rogers, Ezell & Eilers [57] ABSTRACT A toy has an elongated, flexible tube with openings at the opposite ends thereof and with a third opening intermediate those end openings, has the rim on the neck of a balloon disposed within that third opening so that rim underlies the portions of the tube which define that third opening, and has a light-weight ball. One end of the tube can be disposed within the mouth of the user of the toy, the other end of that tube can be disposed so the axis of the opening therein is upwardly-directed, and the balloon can be inflated to enable the neck and the rim on that neck to engage, and form an air-tight seal with, the portions of the tube which define the third opening. By forcing air into the opening at the one end of the tube, the user can cause an upwardly-directed stream of air to issue from the opening at the other end of the tube, and can also inflate the balloon; and, thereafter, when the user must inhale, that balloon will be able to supply the air for the upwardly-directed stream of air.

5 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures BALLOON AND BALL TOY This invention is a simplified version of the toy which is disclosed and claimed in my US. pat. No. 3,559,330 for Toy which was granted on Feb. 2, 1971.

This invention relates to improvements in toys. More particularly, this invention relates to improvements in toys which are operated by blowing air into them.

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide an improved toy which is operated by blowing air into it.

The toy which is disclosed and claimed in my said patent is a very useful and entertaining toy; but it would be desirable to provide a toy which could perform essentially the same functions as that toy and which was easier and less expensive to manufacture. The present invention provides such a toy; and it is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide an inexpensive toy which a person can use to develop an upwardly-directed stream of air on which a light-weight ball can be supported. 7

Other and further objects and advantages of the present invention should become apparent from an examination of the drawing and accompanying description.

In the drawing and accompanying description a preferred embodiment ofthe present invention is shown and described but it is tobe understood that the drawing and accompanying description are for the purpose of illustration only and do not limit the invention and that the invention will be defined by the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION or THE DRAWING DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to the drawing in detail, the numeral 10 generally denotes an elongated tube of flexible material; and that tube will preferably be a length of one of the transparent, flexible, plastic, inexpensive hoses that are readily available on the market. One end of that tube is open and is denoted by the numeral 12; and that end is disposable within the mouth of the person who will use the toy. The numeral 14 denotes an opening in the side of the tube 10; and that opening is intermediate the end 12 and the opposite end 16 of that tube. The end 16 also is open; and the large-diameter portion of a nozzle 18 is forced into that end. The outer diameter of the large diameter portion 20 is slightly larger than the normal; un-stressed inner diameter of the end 16; but the inner diameter of that end can be increased sufficiently to permit that large-diameter portion 20 to be telescoped within that end. The nozzle 18 has a small diameter portion 22 which projects outwardly beyond the open end 16 of the tube 10; and a passage 24 entends through both the large diameter portion 20 and the small diameter portion 22. That passage has a cross section which is materially smaller than the normal, unstressed cross section of the interior of the tube 10.

The numeral 26 generally denotes a balloon of standard and usual design; and the outer end of the neck 28 of that balloon is telescoped inwardly of the opening 14 in the tube 10. The rim 30 on the outer end of the neck 28 underlies those portions of the tube 10 which define the opening 14; and that rim and the outer end of the neck 28 are sufficiently flexible to be movable into sealing engagement with those portions of the tube 10.

That ball-can be suspended in mid air, or can be caused to recurrently move up and down in mid air, on an upwardly-directed air stream 34. To develop that air stream, the user can insert the open end 12 of the tube 10 within his mouth and then blow air into that open end. Some of that air will enter and partially inflate the balloon 26, while the rest of that air will pass upwardly through the upwardly-directed end 16 of the tube 10 and through the passage 24 within the nozzle 18 to define the upwardly-directed air stream 34. If the user were to blow hard enough, he could simultaneously develop theupwardly-directed air stream 34 and at least partially inflate the balloon 26. However, most users of the my will find it desirable to initially place a finger over the upper end of the nozzle 18, as indicated by FIG. 1, to block the discharge of air from the passage 24 until the balloon 26 has been zsubstantially-fully inflated. Thereafter, as the user removes his finger from the upper end of that nozzle, the upwardly-directed air stream 34 can be developed by air from the balloon 26 or by additional air which the user will introduce into the end 12 of the tube 10.

The flexible nature of the tube 10 enables the user to dispose the axis of the upper end 16 of that tube, and hence the axis of the passage 24, at different angles relative to the vertical and thus enables the upwardlydirected air stream 34 to apply some laterally-directed forces as well as upwardly-directed forces to the ball 32. Customarily a user will initially dispose the axis of the upper end 16 of the: tube 10 so it is perfectly vertical; but, after he or she gains confidence and experience, he or'she may incline that axis to the vertical. Then, as the ball 32 moves laterally in response to the laterally-directed forces which are applied to it by the inclined upwardly-directed stream of air 34, the user will follow that ball with the end 16 of the tube 10, and will thereby keep that ball suspended in mid-air.

It will be noted that the tube 10 can be bent so the opening 14 is directed away from the user while the axis of the opening 16 is directed upwardly. This is desirable, because it keeps the balloon 26 from obscuring the vision of the user, and also because it will avoid the risk of that balloon blowing up in the face of the user. Because the tube 10 is flexible, the user can move the nozzle 18 upwardly and downwardly relative to his or her eye level, and thus can adjust the suspended position of the light-weight ball 32 relative to that eye level.

By maintaining a constant velocity for the air within the upwardly-directed air stream 34, the user of the toy can hold the light-weight ball 32 at a substantially-f1xed distance above the upper end of the nozzle 18. By recurrently increasing and decreasing the velocity of the air within the upwardly-directed air stream 34, the user can recurrently cause the light-weight bass 32 to rise and fall relative to the nozzle 18. In any event, the user is exercising his or her lungs and is enjoying clean and interesting entertainment.

When the user wishes to inhale, he or she can close the norally-open end 12, and thus prevent the loss of air through that end, by using his or her teeth to close that open end. ln doing so, the user performs the function of a check valve, and thus obviates the need of such a check valve. Specifically, the user can use his or her teeth to clamp the end 12 closed during those periods of time when he or she is not actively blowing air through that end. The air-supplying part of the toy consists of just three elements, namely, the tube 10, the nozzle 18, and the balloon 26. Those elements can be assembled together before the toy is marketed, or they can be sold separately and then assembled by the user. All the user need do, in assembling the toy, is insert the rim 30 and the outer end of the neck 28 of the balloon 26 into the opening 14 in the tube 10, and then insert the largediameter portion of the nozzle 18 within the end 16 of that tube. Because the tube 10 is flexible, the toy can be bent or folded to occupy a very small space when it is not in use.

Whereas the drawing and accompanying description have shown and described a preferred embodiment of the present invention, it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes may be made in the form of the invention without affecting the scope thereof.

What I claim is:

l. A toy which comprises a tube that has an inlet opening at one end thereof and an outlet opening at the opposite end thereof and a third opening which is intermediate said inlet and said outlet openings and which is in communication with said inlet and said outlet openings and which is in the wall of said tube, a balloon which has the free end of the neck thereof extending inwardly through said third opening and which has the rim on said neck positioned inwardly of said third opening in said tube and which has said rim underlying those portions of said tube that define said third opening, and

a light-weight ball, said rim on said neck of said balloon and the adjacent portions of said neck of said balloon responding to inflation of said balloon to closely and directly engage said portions of said tube that define said third opening in said tube and to coact with said portions of said tube to form an essentially air-tight seal, said inlet opening in said tube being disposable adjacent the mouth of a person to receive air, said outlet opening in said tube being disposable so the axis of said outlet opening is upwardly directed and thus can provide an upwardly-directed stream of air on which said light-weight ball can be suspended, said balloon being inflatable by air which is introduced into said tube through said inlet opening and which is conducted to said balloon by the portion of said tube which is intermediate said inlet and said third openings and which is remote from said outlet opening, said balloon being inflatable to constitute a reservoir of air for said outlet opening, said balloon supplying said air to said outlet opening via said third opening and the portion of said tube which is intermediate said third and said outlet openings and which is remote from said inlet opening.

2. A toy as claimed in claim 1 wherein said axis of said outlet opening can be disposed at different angles relative to the axis of said inlet opening.

3. A toy as claimed in claim 1 wherein a nozzle is disposed within said outlet opening in said tube, and wherein said nozzle has a reduced-diameter passage through it to enable said upwardly-directed stream of air on which said light-weight ball is suspended to have a small cross section and to be of relatively high velocity.

4. A toy as claimed in claim 1 wherein said tube can be bent to direct said third opening away from said person whenever said inlet opening is disposed adjacent the mouth of said person and the axis of said outlet opening is upwardly-directed, whereby said balloon is directed away from said person.

5. A toy as claimed in claim 1 wherein said tube is made of flexible material and thus can have said first end thereof closed by the teeth of said person when said person must inhale a fresh supply of air. 

1. A toy which comprises a tube that has an inlet opening at one end thereof and an outlet opening at the opposite end thereof and a third opening which is intermediate said inlet and said outlet openings and which is in communication with said inlet and said outlet openings and which is in the wall of said tube, a balloon which has the free end of the neck thereof extending inwardly through said third opening and which has the rim on said neck positioned inwardly of said third opening in said tube and which has said rim underlying those portions of said tube that define said third opening, and a light-weight ball, said rim on said neck of said balloon and the adjacent portions of said neck of said balloon responding to inflation of said balloon to closely and directly engage said portions of said tube that define said third opening in said tube and to coact with said portions of said tube to form an essentially air-tight seal, said inlet opening in said tube being disposable adjacent the mouth of a person to receive air, said outlet opening in said tube being disposable so the axis of said outlet opening is upwardly directed and thus can provide an upwardly-directed stream of air on which said light-weight ball can be suspended, said balloon being inflatable by air which is introduced into said tube through said inlet opening and which is conducted to said balloon by the portion of said tube which is intermediate said inlet and said third openings and which is remote from said outlet opening, said balloon being inflatable to constitute a reservoir of air for said outlet opening, said balloon supplying said air to said outlet opening via said third opening and the portion of said tube which is intermediate said third and said outlet openings and which is remote from said inlet opening.
 2. A toy as claimed in claim 1 wherein said axis of said outlet opening can be disposed at different angles relative to the axis of said inlet opening.
 3. A toy as claimed in claim 1 wherein a nozzle is disposed within said outlet opening in said tube, and wherein said nozzle has a reduced-diameter passage through it to enable said upwardly-directed stream of air on which said light-weight ball is suspended to have a small cross section and to be of relatively high velocity.
 4. A tOy as claimed in claim 1 wherein said tube can be bent to direct said third opening away from said person whenever said inlet opening is disposed adjacent the mouth of said person and the axis of said outlet opening is upwardly-directed, whereby said balloon is directed away from said person.
 5. A toy as claimed in claim 1 wherein said tube is made of flexible material and thus can have said first end thereof closed by the teeth of said person when said person must inhale a fresh supply of air. 